Have a need for speed? If you said “yes” then chances are, you're probably a teenager. There’s no shame in being young, but there is shame in standing on the side of the road next to your totaled vehicle. I was 16 when I totaled my car. The reason? I was looking at my phone to change a song on Spotify while driving. I was lucky. I only hurt myself and my injuries were limited to a friction burn from my seatbelt across my torso. My car wasn’t so lucky. What was once my pride and joy was a smoking pile of metal, wrapped around a tree.
The greatest shame? The look on my grandparents’ faces when they came to pick me up from the scene. Complete and utter disappointment in my decision making skills. Sure, they were glad I was alive, but they were horrified by my willingness to put other drivers and pedestrians at risk.
Why did I do it? Why did I decide to look at my phone? Because I truly believed IT would NEVER happen to ME. Sure that horrible stuff happens to other people… but not me right? WRONG! When it comes to car accidents, there is one thing you can rely on with almost complete certainty: It is not a matter of “if” it is a matter of “when.” About 90% of drivers will, at some point in their lives, be involved in a car accident. This is why it is so important to:
Understand the Stats
NEVER split focus
NEVER speed
Let’s start with the stats. Teenagers are three times more likely to be involved in a car accident when compared to older drivers. Why is this? There are several factors, but let’s start with the most compelling ones.
Underdeveloped Pre-Frontal Cortex:
This is the part of the brain responsible for judgment, planning, impulse control, and risk assessment. It doesn’t fully develop until the mid-20s. As a result, teens are more likely to make impulsive decisions and underestimate risks, especially in emotionally charged situations like driving. One of the best ways to challenge the “just a kid” stereotype is to prove them wrong with your behavior. I didn’t do that. I am not proud of it. Don’t be like me. None of us are immune to consequences. Tragedy does not discriminate: everyone is free game.
Peer validation:
Many teens see driving not just as transportation, but as a status symbol, a way to impress, or a chance to fit in. But you don’t prove maturity by giving in to pressure. You won’t catch anyone with real goals and aspirations speeding down the road for the vibes. It’s a cringe-worthy cannon event; something we all did when we needed external validation. Yes, we are judging, and no, we don’t think your straight pipe is edgy. Again, I did it. Don’t be like me. I promise it’s better to be seen as “boring” than to be seen doing the walk of shame to your parents’ car when they come to rescue you from your accident.
NEVER split focus
There is no excuse for distracted driving at this point. Almost all cars come equipped with voice command features and buttons on the wheel that are proven to be effective and much safer. Learn how to use it so you never have to take your eyes off the road. You should be able to comfortably operate all the buttons on your wheel without looking before driving on public roads. Period. No excuses.
NEVER speed:
I know we have all heard this a million times: “Drive safe, don't speed.” But why do people speed in the first place? The vast majority of the time people speed without even realizing it. Right below that is the “I was late” excuse. The first case is more difficult to solve since it involves societal norms and social pressures, but the second is easy to debunk with some simple math.
Let's assume you need to drive to work which is ten minutes away. Let’s also assume you live in a magical utopia where there are no traffic lights or stop signs and it’s a straight drive with no turns. The drive to work takes 10 minutes when you drive the speed limit of 60 mph. But you’re late. So you decide to speed to make up the time. You drive 70 mph to work. Congratulations, you’ve just drastically increased your chances of getting in an accident, hurting someone else, AND you saved a whopping 86 seconds. That’s not even 1.5 minutes. No boss is going to know the difference between 15 minutes late and 13.5 minutes late, you’re still just late.
Now let’s assume you decide to go 80 mph instead. Congratulations, you’ve increased your chances of all the other problems and you now saved 172 seconds. That’s 2.87 minutes. So now, instead of being 15 minutes late, you’re 12.13 minutes late. Guess what? You’re still late and your boss is still mad. And you’ve now exceeded the speed limit by 20 mph which is considered criminal speeding. So if a cop sees you, they can now take you to jail and impound your vehicle.
Assuming you get your vehicle out immediately afterwards, you’re going to spend a minimum of $400. But wait, there’s more. You also missed an entire day of work, so you might actually lose your job, and you have to pay the ticket, which starts at about $190. That’s a very expensive 2.87 minutes.
Reaction Time and Stopping Rates:
Humans have a reaction time of ~1.5 seconds. That reaction time does not change, no matter what, it takes your body 1.5 seconds to start applying the brakes after you see an obstacle. Now remember that when you think about how long it takes for your vehicle to come to a complete stop at higher speeds.
A bit more math:
Again, you're late to work so you decide to drive 70 mph in a 60 mph zone to make up lost time. But now there is a pedestrian crossing the street in front of you. Let’s assume you weren’t looking at your phone and you started applying your brakes with the minimum reaction time of 1.5 seconds. At 70 mph, you have already traveled an additional 103 ft before your foot even hit the brakes. Then, assuming ideal conditions (good tire tread, clean, dry, flat, straight road) at maximum braking capacity, you will travel an additional 245 ft before coming to a complete stop. That is a total of 348 ft traveled from the moment you saw the pedestrian to the moment you came to a complete stop. The time lapse is 4.0 seconds total.
Now let’s consider the more reckless version where you decide to go 80 mph in a 60 mph zone. You see a pedestrian crossing the street and you are not on your phone, and we assume ideal conditions again. Your car will come to a complete stop after it’s traveled a total distance of 428 ft. The total time lapse is 4.5 seconds.
The takeaway? Understand the facts. Don’t look at your phone while driving. Don’t speed. It’s not worth it. In literally every sense of the word, it is NOT worth it.